BRATTLEBORO-After seven months of organizing, 68% of the roughly 250 support staff, techs, business office employees, and skilled maintenance staff at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH) voted yes (123–57) on Feb. 17 to formalize their union and affiliate with AFT (American Federation of Teachers) Vermont, a union that represents more than 11,000 health care and higher education professionals.
Shann Sorrenti, phlebotomy technician and union organizing committee member, said in a news release that the ancillary staff organized because they love their work and "want BMH to thrive by us as directly impacted staff having a seat at the table - not least because most of us and our families are part of this community."
"We plan to negotiate for a contract that allows us to prioritize our work here instead of working two or three jobs to make ends meet," Sorrenti continued. "We want to improve retention and recruitment of local staff, and we look forward to working with the BMH administration to build a culture of consistency, transparency and trust. Our work conditions are our patients' care conditions."
Once the votes are certified, ancillary staff will begin the process of bargaining their first contract with the BMH administration.
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